Why did the other Scottish football clubs take the daft decision in 1980 that the Old Firm could keep all their home gate receipts?

In 1980, Scottish football was enjoying a bit of serious competition for the league title. 

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen were strutting their stuff, regularly putting the Old Firm to the sword. 

In the same period, Dundee United also offered a strong challenge to the Big Two.

However, the seeds of the destruction of competition in the Scottish Premiership were already in the ground.

It all started with the Rangers Development Fund.

This Fund was for years feed from the proceeds of weekly Prize Draws, with the tickets bought by Rangers supporters.

For years, no one at Rangers knew what to do with the monies that were being built up in the Development Fund.

There was much frustration at Ibrox, especially when Celtic were winning everything. Many would have wanted to spend the Fund on buying players – but the conditions of the Fund meant it could only be used for ground improvements.

By the end of the 1970’s, there were £ Millions in the Fund. In fact, enough to rebuild the Rangers stadium.

So that’s what happened. By 1981, Rangers built three new grandstands. Suddenly, they had a modern all-seater, 44,000 capacity stadium.

It has to be remembered that, when the plans for the new Ibrox were being drawn up, Rangers were going through a fallow period in terms of winning the league. They had won the 1977/78 title but by 1980, Celtic and Aberdeen ruled the roost. Rangers were “also rans”.

Pre 1980, the “wee teams” in Scottish football enjoyed a financial boost when they visited the Rangers and Celtic. Why? Because they received 50% of the gate receipts at Ibrox and Parkhead.

Rangers decided the way to change their fortunes was to hang on to all the gate receipts at their sparkling new stadium. So that’s what they proposed, backed by Celtic, who clearly saw the benefit of strengthening the hold the Old Firm had over Scottish football.

How the Glasgow giants got the other clubs to agree is beyond my understanding – but agree they did, in sufficient numbers to force the change through in 1980.

Within five years, competition was obliterated in Scottish football. The retained gate monies fuelled the domination of the Old Firm.

It took Celtic 18 years to copy Rangers “new stadium” wheeze. Perhaps not surprising therefore that Rangers won the league in ten of the eleven seasons between 1986/87 and 1996/97.

The advent of the European Champions League in 1992 cemented the financial domination of the Old Firm. Only Rangers and Celtic ever qualified for this economic bonanza.

So there you have it. The “also rans” voted for their own economic downfall in 1980.

Daft?

CRAZY!